NEW DELHI: The National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) has approved a 20% price hike for Serum Institute of India's BCG, measles and measles-rubella vaccines. This move is unusual since price hikes are rare when one company dominates the market.
Background of the Price Revision
NPPA had fixed the price ceiling in December 2024 based on Pharmarack data after applying a monopoly reduction of 17.1% under the Drugs Prices Control Order, 2013. Serum Institute filed a review application with the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), which referred the matter to NPPA. Serum Institute had argued that the vaccines were complex, had few alternatives, and costs had been rising.
DoP's Submission
"The vaccines in question are of critical public health significance, have shown relatively stable price trends, impose minimal financial burden on citizens and are supplied by a single manufacturer at relatively low prices," read DoP's submission to NPPA.
NPPA's Decision
NPPA decided that the ceiling price may be revised without applying reduction under monopolistic condition "to address the grievance of the applicant as well as to ensure sufficient availability of the drug in the market", the notification said. The BCG vaccine now costs Rs 9.9 per dose (up from Rs 8.2), measles-rubella Rs 87.93 (from Rs 72.9), and measles Rs 62 (from Rs 51.4).
This price revision is expected to ensure continued supply of these critical vaccines while balancing affordability and production costs.
